The burritos didn’t contain GMOs, but they did contain E. coli.

“Last April, Chipotle announced it would be phasing out ingredients containing genetically modified organisms. As Science of Us argued at the time, this was a meaningless bit of PR designed to bolster Chipotle’s reputation as a “responsible” or “wholesome” fast-food joint; while GMOs, like any technology, need to be effectively regulated and deployed responsibly, all else being equal there are no valid reasons to consider foods without GMOs to be healthier or more environmentally friendly than those containing them. But Americans are terribly ill-informed about GMOs — they answer basic true-false questions about the technology with barely more accuracy than a coin flip — and therefore become easy prey to this sort of opportunistic corporate feel-goodery.” (more…)

One of the most persistent arguments for modern, mechanized agriculture is that it produces a lot of food per acre, leaving more land for other purposes. I’ve often wondered how solid this argument is, and when a debate broke out recently, I decided to look closer.

It started with a paper from a think tank. The Breakthrough Institute study, called Nature Unbound, argued that, by embracing technology, humanity could shrink its footprint and leave more land for “nature.” (more…)

This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture decided to deregulate Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist corn and soybean traits in the United States.

With the USDA action, the ball now goes to the Environmental Protection Agency for registration of Enlist Duo herbicide, the companion herbicide to the Enlist traits. Approval for Enlist Duo is expected in the near future.

The Enlist traits are part of the Enlist Weed Control System, a new trait and herbicide technology. USDA’s decision applies to the Enlist corn, Enlist soybean and Enlist E3 soybean traits. Enlist E3 soybeans are being developed through a collaboration between MS Technologies and Dow AgroSciences. (more…)